Sage users, execs connect at summit

A flurry of legislative activity focuses on small businesses

(12/14/2009)

0                                                                                                 

By Liz Gold    

PrintReprintsAtlanta - Session recommendations made via Twitter, attendee feedback via text message and stories of customer success with social networking were the buzz here at Sage Summit, Sage's annual confab for its users.

For many, the conference traditionally is an opportunity to network and connect with others using Sage products, meet with Sage employees and executives, and perhaps get a preview of upcoming strategies.

In a welcoming session, Jodi Uecker-Rust, president of Sage's Business Solutions Division, expressed gratitude to attendees and encouraged them to learn from their user peers who were scattered across different industries. "We need to work on what's working well and what's not working well. We are here to make it easier for you, our customers, to do your business processes."

Attendees were also encouraged to share their opinions via text messages throughout the conference.

"[The summit] helps you develop the right questions to ask," said Jeff Livingston, a physician at MacArthur OB/GYN in Irving, Texas. Livingston was spotlighted by Sage execs as a customer who was successfully using social media to connect with his patient demographic: pregnant teens. Attendees had a variety of sessions to choose from - some were divided into product lines to focus on support and specifics, while others were more general and business-oriented.

FUTURE VISION

During a press briefing, Himanshu Palsule, executive vice president of Sage's Business Solutions Division, discussed the company's product and marketing strategy, centering on five trends that are influencing the software market from a customer perspective - business analytics, globalization, the mobile workforce, social media and cloud computing. "The vision is to take advantage of these trends without disrupting our current customers," Palsule explained.

He said that in the next fiscal year, Sage plans to increase business partner skills, competencies and productivity; improve new customer acquisition channel marketing; and refine business partner measurements and compensation.

Connie Certusi, general manager of Sage's Small Business Accounting unit, said that she's going to be aggressively pursing accountants to join the Sage Accountants Network, even offering free membership during various national events and conferences. Sue Swenson, president and chief executive of Sage, told Accounting Today that her priorities for 2010 are to start with the customer experience and "understanding what that looks like at all customer touch points."

Swenson also said that the company has been accommodating its customers during the economic downturn by helping them with payment arrangements.